ST. LOUIS -- If the most over-told story of the 2009 Cardinals is Chris Carpenter's return from a shoulder injury and elbow surgery, the most under-told may involve Carpenter's No. 1 protege.
Right-hander Adam Wainwright started and finished the 2008 season healthy, but in between he missed nearly 11 weeks. He's fully healthy and reporting no lingering problems from the finger injury that sidelined him for most of the summer of '08. If Carpenter stays healthy for '09, it's a boost. But to get full, 33-start seasons from both right-handers would change the entire look of the Cardinals' rotation, and thus the club as a whole.
"It's hard for me to say how different it would have been if I would have made all my starts, but I like to think I would have made a positive impact," Wainwright said with some unnecessary modesty. "The guys who stepped in instead of me were outstanding, too, though, so I wouldn't want to take away from what they did. But I'm pretty sure I help the team, and I know Carp helps the team. So I think with both of us, if we stay healthy, we're going to be a tough team."
The Cardinals knew that they'd be going much of 2008 without Carpenter. They figured they'd have him for the second half, but the best-case scenario for Carpenter was 15-20 starts. He underwent Tommy John reconstructive elbow surgery in July '07, a procedure that typically has a 12-month recovery period for a starting pitcher.
But St. Louis was counting on Wainwright from Day 1 -- counting on him, in fact, to fill much of the void left by Carpenter.
When Wainwright went down -- with Todd Wellemeyer sustaining a less severe injury at virtually the same point in the season -- everything changed. The St. Louis rotation lost its ace pro tem, the guy who gave the Cards their best chance to win every five days and the guy who helped take strain off the bullpen. Manager Tony La Russa leaned more heavily on Kyle Lohse, but even at his best Lohse cannot match what Carpenter and Wainwright are capable of.
After Wainwright's win June 7 -- the game in which he sustained the finger injury -- the Cardinals were 37-27. For the remainder of the season, they played .500 ball. Put another way, St. Louis was 15-5 when Wainwright started, and 71-71 with any other starter on the mound.
So give the Cards a full season of that, plus Carpenter -- in whose starts the Redbirds are 68-29 since he joined the club -- and things look a good bit different.
"If we get those guys healthy for a full season, I think we can compete with anybody," said Lohse.
Wainwright has a battery of exercises he does to help strengthen not only the finger in question, but the area around it. He insists the injury was "incredibly freak," and has no concerns as to whether he'll be able to take the ball every fifth day in 2009.
And if he does that, his team will be much more formidable.
"You want to be one of those guys that people look to, that you can say is a real impact player who changes the core of the team," Wainwright said. "But the truth of the matter is, Carp and I and everybody else really just have to go out there and pitch every day that we're called on."
By Matthew Leach / MLB.com
For all those Cardinal fans who are ready to see a Post Season team, here they are. The Cards have a few new faces and some returning aces. Wainwright will take the hill against the Pirates on Monday. The Outfield has the usual Duncan, Ankiel, and Ludwick, Infield has Pujols, Schumaker, Greene and Freese (just like I told you a month ago). Molina behind the box completes this starting team. With some good home grown talent and some good off season additions, this is a recipe for a World Series appearance as long as we have a huge amount of HEALTHY in the stew pot. Jason Motte takes the Closer position in the bull pen and this should be an improvement over last years "used up" Isringhausen. The Cubs and Brewers will give us a run for our money this year but I believe he will come out on top with about 90+ wins in the books. Only time will tell and I am glad to have it. 
